A Certain Preoccupation
by ChiseChitose
Summary: The exterior of Darien Shields is the epitome of cool perfection. The interior is something much more complex.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

Authors Note: So it's been awhile. This will be a work in progress, just as long as inspiration stays with me. Be advised, this will be steamy. Like very steamy.

I am a logical man. I believe in science, the irrefutable truth of mathematics and the sanctity of the scientific method. People would probably go so far as to say that I am cold, that I am so immersed in my world of cold hard facts that I am blind the world of people. They would say that I am harsh, oblivious to the beauty and splendor that life can bring.

They would be wrong, so, so wrong. I see beauty and splendor everyday.

I revel in it, I worship it. I am obsessed with it, obsessed with...her.

Bunny. Buns. Serena. Serenity. Princess. Goddess. Life. Light. Love.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: I loved the scene from the Salior Moon R movie. I'm incorporating this into the fic, but leaving out the rest, including Fiore. This story will basically follow events from the manga.

I remember the first time I saw her. I was eight.

A tiny baby blonde holding roses.

I was a mess, a young boy fresh from trauma. I had woken up in a hospital bed, bruised, broken and suffering from amnesia. My parents were dead. Parents that I couldn't even remember. I laid in that hospital bed, crying and in pain, questioning my place in life. Why did I survive? Who was I? Why did my parents leave?

My sobs were reaching the hysterical point. I began to hyperventilate. I couldn't think. All I could feel was pain and sorrow. Then, I felt a soft touch on my hand. My blurry eyes tried to focus. All I could see was red and gold. The soft touch nuzzled against my hand and laid a gentle kiss on it. My eyes cleared enough to reveal a tiny girl, no more than three or four, nuzzling her cheek against me, grasping a small bouquet of roses.

"Don't be sad," she whispered. Her golden curls were twisted up in two bun-topped ponytails. She blinked her pretty blue eyes at me and smiled.

"Mommy had a baby! I'm a sister!" She pulled a single red rose from her bouquet and held it out to me.

"Are you giving this to me?" I asked, puzzled by this random show of affection.

"Congratulations!" She cried out joyously.

She was adorable, a tiny blonde angel stumbling over her words and filled to the brim with love and kindness.

I took the proffered rose. My heart began to beat rapidly, I felt overcome with incomprehensible emotion. This little girl, who had no relation to me whatsoever, took the time to stop and comfort me in my time of woe, and gave me a gift in the process. I didn't understand what I was feeling at the time; my stomach was in knots, there was a tightness in my chest, but it wasn't because I was sad.

The little girl smiled and reached up to place a kiss on my cheek. She gave me one last sweet smile and skipped out of the room.

I didn't feel so lonely anymore. I gazed at the beautiful rose in my hand and lifted it towards my face to inhale its gentle fragrance.

From that moment on, the sight and smell of red roses brought forth visions of golden curls and bright blue eyes.

And then the dreams started.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note_: Sorry it's taking so long to post and for the short chapters. Updates will be more regular from now on. Ugh, Real Life. I'm over it!

The first sensation was warmth. I was wrapped in a cocoon of gentle heat. I felt safe, comfortable. It was soft. I felt loved. Then I realized that someone was holding me. My first instinct was to call out for my mother, because a mother's hug could only feel this nice. As I snuggled deeper into the embrace, I knew this was not my mother, that she couldn't be my mother. I don't know who she was and I didn't care. She loved me.

Her gentle hands stroked my hair and she whispered words of love and comfort. I couldn't see her, I could only feel her. Not just the warmth and strength of her embrace, but the power of her presence. I could feel her soul.

After the accident claimed the lives of my parents, I had no legal guardian to care for me. The only link to my family was my birth certificate and a trust fund held in my name until I came of age. I was placed in an ophanage. I guess people thought I was odd, no one ever tried to adopt me and none of the other children wanted anything to do with me. I didn't really mind. While all the other kids went to sleep at night, they dreamed that someone would take them home and love them. When I went to sleep, I dreamed of an angel who DID love me.

My dreams kept me fortified. As I got older, the dream began to change. I could interact with my angel. That's when my life really began to change.


End file.
